Puller feed machine



J'. mms l 1,957,238

FULLER FEED MACHINE May l, 1934, l

lFile'd oct. 15, 195o w 20 v JNVENTOR.

patented May l, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PULLER FEED MACHINE Application October 15, 1930, Serial No. 488,738

23 Claims.

This invention relates to puller feed machines for use with sewing machines to assist in feeding the material or to tension parts of the sewed article during the stitching thereof, the object of the invention being to provide a combined puller feed and cutting or trimming mechanism whereby the material may be severed or trimmed or various designs imparted to the material by the cutting means during the feeding thereof, thus enabling these several operations to be performed v simultaneously on one machine instead of on separate machines necessitating a separate handling of the work as formerly.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved puller machine having a cutting mechanism so combined therewith that either a plain or design cut may be accurately made in the material either before or after the stitching thereof.

A furtherbbject of the invention is the provision of an improved combined puller machine and cutting mechanism by means of which the material may be cut completely through or part Way therethrough and by means of which the material may have its edges cut or trimmed, perforated, embossed or other designs imparted to the surfaces of the material While in the process of stitching.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a puller feed mechanism having combined therewith an automatic gumming mechanism for applying gum to the cut edges of fabrics to prevent fraying.

A further object of the invention is the pro.

f vision of an improved puller feed mechanism having combined therewith an improved cutting or trimming means for cutting, trimming or imparting a design to the fabric during the stitching and feeding thereof and also gumming means for vgumming parts of the material to prevent the fraying thereof.

In the present improvement, the combined puller feed and severing or design cutting means may be utilized either in front of or in the rear of the'sewing machine with which it is intended to co-operate so that either a plain or a design cut may be made in the material whereby the material may be separated with .accruacy relative to the stitched line so that the cut may be made either before or after the stitching of the material, and the organization is such that one or more cutters for making one or more lines of cuts either completely through or partway through the material may be used. For instance, in the manufacture of apparel such as leather ox. fabric belts made by sewing strips together and cutting and trimming the edges and also perforating, embossing, creasing or design marking the surface of the belt while in the process of feeding and stitching this may all be done at one and the same time, the invention not being limited to merely cutting but adapted for use in connection with a great variety of Work which may be done by any of the well known cylindrical tools adapted for use in connection with a machine of this kind heretofore used independently of the puller feed mechanism.

In the drawing acompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 shows an improved puller feed machine with one form of cutting mechanism combined therewith.

Figure 2 is a partly sectional view of the combined puller feed rollers and cutting mechanism, this view illustrating cutting by abrasion.

Figure 3 is a sectional view ofthe puller feed rollers provided with another form of cutting mechanism which, in this instance, operates similar to rotary shears.

Figure 4 is a front view of the feed rollers provided with another form of cutting mechanism for making a design cut, and

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic' view illustrating various kinds of cuts or. impressions that may be made in the work.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining in detail the present improvement and mode of operation thereof, I deside to have it understand that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which I employ is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

The puller feed mechanism shown herein is somewhat similar to that illustrated and described in my Patent No. 1,736,297 dated November 19, 1929, and comprises a suitable frame or support 1 having feet 2 andan L-shaped or right angle web 3 forming a top 4 carrying an upstanding portion 5 having an overhanging arm 6 providedwith bearings rI in which operates a bar 8 carrying the top feed roller bracket 9 of U- shaped form and which is provided with a shaft 10 clamped in the arms 11 of said bracket; This shaft 10 may be of tubular form, as illustrated at 12, Figure 2, with suitable outlets or ports 13 to conduct oil to the top roll or roller 14 and which hollow shaft is provided with an oil feed 15 to conduct oil thereto.

In those cases where oil is objectionable because of damaging expensive materials, an oil shaft 30 such as that shown in Figure 3 may be provided made of wood filled with lubricant and which, therefore, requires no oiling, this shaft being carried by a roller bushing.

For lifting the roll 14 from thc work, a lever 16 is pivoted at 17 to the overhanging arm 6 of the machine and the front end of this lever is forked and co-operates with a block 18 clamped to the bar 8 in such manner as to prevent side shake of the roller 14. A spring 19 is provided to exert pressure on the roll 14 and by means of which sufficient tension is exerted on the roll to feed and cut the work.

The roll 14 operates with the desired pressure on a bottom roll or roller 20 secured to and turning with a driving shaft 21 rotatable in bearings 22. To one end of this shaft is secured asuitable rotary intermittent clutch for driving this shaft such as that shown and described in my Patent No. 1,736,297, of November 19, 1929, and, therefore, a detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary herein, and as this clutch connects with'and is driven from the sewing machine by means of a suitable connecting rod, it will be understood that the puller feed machine can be placed either in front of or in rear of the sewing machine so as to suit the kind of work in connection with which it isused. For instance, in the manufacture of towels that are woven double width and cut apart before hemming the cut edges thereof, the puller feed machine may be placed in front of a two-needle sewing machine and this cutting done in one operation with the feeding so that the 120-yard lengths of toweling may be cut and the opposite edges folded to form hems while the stitching of these hems is proceeding.

By utilizing rubber tires on the puller rollers, the proper resiliency is obtained to permit an even grip on the thick and thin portions of the material, such as the body of the material and the hemmed edges thereof, and, therefore, the roller 14 is provided with soft rubber tires 24 secured to the body or core 25 thereof.

In the present improvement, one or both of the rollers is made in a plurality of parts, in other words, is built up so as to permit the use of different kinds of cutters therewith shown as of circular form and rotatable with the rollers.

In Figure 2, a crushing cut cutter 26 is shown clamped by a screw 27 between and to the two parts of the top roller 14 and therefore, in this instance, located midway bweerr the two halves of the top roller, this crushing cut roller acting against the bottom roller which, in this instance, may be made of hardened steel and knurled on each side of a centrol smooth portion co-operating with the cutter of the top roller.

In Figure 3, both rollers are made of two parts or halves and the top and bottom roller is provided with shearing cutters 28 secured in position by screws 29 to the cores 25 of one half of each roller, the several halves of the rollers being secured to the shafts 21 and 30 by suitable screws so that all four parts, A, B, C and D of these rollers are rotated and feed the material uniformly by reasonof the rubber tires of each exerting the desired pull on the work, thus permitting the overlapping cutters to sever the materials step by step during the rotary motion of the puller rollers. In this instance, the cutters have recessed faces 31 and are set together suciently tight to shear the material in the manner desired.

In Figure 4, the upper feed roller 14 is equipped with a pinking design cutter 32 mounted in a similar manner to the cutter shown in Figure 2, this pinking cutter operating against a hardened steel portion or band 33 of the lower roller 20 which likewise is rubber tired at opposite sides of this hardened steel portion so that these rubber tires will permit the design cutter to cut through heavy materials, by reason of the fact that these rubber tires will be compressed suiciently to permit this while exerting sufficient pressure to feed the work. In some designs of irregular forms, the work may be fed by the cutters without the necessity of having the feed rollers contact therewith.

In Figure 5, I have illustrated some of the different kinds of cut lines and designs which may be obtained, A illustrating a straight cut made with cutters such as 28 in Figure 3, B illustrating a pinking cut made with cutters such as 32 in Figure 4, C illustrating a design cut and indent figure, D illustrating a scallop cut and E another design of cut, it being understood that many different designs may be cut according to the character of the cutters which are used and located between the parts of the feed rollers.

Materials of loose .weave frequently have their edges pinked to prevent the threads from fraying in long lengths and present a ragged appearance and which gradually weakens the seam for when the fraying reaches the line of stitches, thestitches will, of course, give away. Consequently, bindings and over-stitches were used to prevent the fraying of the seams. However, this increased the expense to the manufacturer and consumer of the article and was also objectionable because when the article was pressed, especially when made of light weight fabric, this seam binding or over-stitching would show through the garment at the outside, leaving a shining streak at every seam and, therefore, to avoid these disadvantages and permit the article to be pinked or design trimmed at its seams, especially when made of delicate fabrics, this improved machine is provided with a gumming attachment, automatic in its action and which may be used for applying sufficient gum at the cut edges of the fabric to prevent fraying.

This attachment consists of a container 35, (see Figure 1) secured to the overhanging arm 6 of the machine and provided with a cover 36 and from which a supply pipe 37 leads. 'I'his pipe is provided with a valve 38 to shut off the flow of gum when this part of the machine is not in use. The pipe is attached to the overhanging arm 6 and the outlet end 39 of the pipe is flattened and shaped to t part way around the bar 8 carrying the upper feed roller. This bar 8 has a saw-cut opening 40 located in position to align with the delivery end 39 of the pipe and thus permit the gum to ow into the bar 8 which is hollow at the lower end thereof. This bar carries a wick 41 in position to wipe the cutting edges of the cutter (see Figure 4). The outlet end 39 of the pipe and the saw-cut opening 40 in the bar 8 are so located that they are in communication when material is being worked upon. The flattened semi-circular end of the pipe fitting tightly to and partly around the bar 8 will deliver gum to the bar when the opening 40 of the bar registers with the outlet or mouth of the pipe and the arrangement of these parts is such that they form a simple automatic valve to control the deliveryF of the gum when neededA for when the bar 8 and its roller 14 are lifted this, of course, carries the opening in the bar away from the end of the pipe thus cutting oif the supply of the gum.

A latch 42 is pivoted to a guide block 18 and swings by gravity into position so that the lower end thereof will rest on the lower bearing '7 as at 44 and thus hold the upper roller 20 in its elevated position and thereby permit a piece of work to be inserted between the rollers. When this work is suitably placed the operator strikes a projection 45 carried by the latch 42 thereby shifting it out of contact with the bearing and thus permitting the upper roller to descend into position to feed the Work.

In practice, several cutters for imparting different designs may be located side by side and suitably spaced apart when necessary to accomplish the desired work, and for this purpose the yoke 11 may have its arms spaced farther apart or interchangeable yokes may be provided for carrying interchangeable rollers and cutters, the number of cutters which may be used side by side depending somewhat upon the width of the roller parts at each side thereof which can be of greater or less width, according to the number of cutters it is desired to use and the cutters may be positioned to cut to the right or left of the needle line by merely shifting the cutter relative to the roller parts.

For brevity, the term cutting in the claims is to be understood as including trimming or the formation of designs either partly or all the Way through the material by perforating, embossing, creasing or otherwise marking the surface of the material.

It is to be understood that by describing in detail herein any particular form, structure of arrangement, it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior art.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or all of the modes of its use, I claim:

1. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism including a rotatable puller feed roll, cutting means carried by said roll and operating during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the work, a shiftable supporting bar carrying said roll and having a hollow lower end, and gumming means communicating with the side of said hollow bar for supplying gum to the cut edges of the work.

2. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism including a rotatable puller feed roll, cutting means carried by said roll and operating during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the work, a shiftable supporting bar carrying said roll and having a hollow lower end, and gumming means communicating with said hollow bar for supplying gum to the cut edges of the work, said gumming means including a supply pipe and said hollow portion of the bar having an opening at its side in communication with said pipe.

3. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism' including a rotatable puller feed roll, cutting means carried by said roll and operating during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the Work, a shiftable supporting bar carrying said roll and having a hollow lower end, and gumming means communicating with said hollow bar for supplying gum to the cut edges of the Work, said gumming means including al supply pipe and said hollow portion of the bar having an opening at the side thereof in communication with said pipe, and means for raising said bar and thereby the roll automatically to cut olf communication with said pipe.

4. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism including a rotatable puller feed roll, a bar for supporting it and having a hollow lower end and provided with an opening at its side, gumming means comprising a tank, a pipe leading therefrom and partially encircling said bar and having an opening in position to communicate with the opening in said bar, means for raising the bar and therebythe puller roll, thereby to sever connection between the pipe and bar, and cutting mechanism carried by the roll and operating during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the work.

5. A puller feed mechanism including a rotatable puller feed roll, a bar carrying said roll and having a hollow lower end provided with an opening at its side and gumming means in communication with said opening for supplying gum to the Work.

6. A puller feed mechanism including a rotatable puller feed roll, a shiftable bar carrying said roll and having a hollow lower end provided with an opening at its side, gumming means in communication with said opening for applying gum to the work, and means for raising said bar and thereby the roll, thereby to cut off communication between the bar and the gum supplymean 7. A combined puller feed and cutting mecha nism including a pair of rotatable puller feed rolls, one having tired faces, one of said rolls also having a relatively hard face and the other of said rolls comprising a pair of spaced portions, means for rotating said rolls, means for applying tension to one of said rolls, means for raising and lowering one of said rolls, cutting means carried by one of said rolls in position to co-operate with the relatively hard face of the other roll'and operating during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the work.

8. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism including a pair of rotatable puller feed rolls, one having rubber tired faces, one of said rolls having a relatively hard face and the other of said rolls comprising a pair of spaced portions, means for rotating said rolls, means for applying tension to one of said rolls, means for raising and lowering one of saidrolls, cutting means carried by one of said .rolls in position to co-operate with the relatively hard face of the other roll and operating during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the work, and gumming means in position to supply gum to the cutting means.

9. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and applydesigns to the Work, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative to the arm, a co-oper'ating puller feed roll, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll being driven therefrom by frictional contact.

10. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and' operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut 5 and apply designs to the work, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative to the arm, a co-operating puller feed roll, and means for intermittently driving said last roll, the first roll being driven therefrom by frictional contact.

11. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and apply designs to the work, a puller feed roll operative at the side `of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative to the arm, a co-operating puller feed roll and cutting means carried on the same axis and each co-operating with a corresponding part of said 0 first roll and cutting means, and means for drivfrom by frictional Contact.

ing said last roll, the first roll being driven there- 12. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and apply designs to the work, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm and the cutting means being fixed to said roll, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative'to the arm, a co-operating' puller feed roll, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll being driven therefrom by frictional contact. 1

13. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a xed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and apply designs to the work, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative to the arm, a co-operating puller feed roll and cutting means carried on the same axis and each co-operating with a corresponding part of said first roll and cutting means, said cutting means being fixed to the roll, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll being driven therefrom by irictional contact.

14. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching .mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and apply designs to the work and interchangeable relative to said roll, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative to the arm, a cooperating puller feed roll, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll being driven therefrom by frictional contact.

15. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and apply designs to the .wor-k, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, said cutting means being carried by said roll between the ends thereof, means for applying pressure toy said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutting means relative to the arm, a co-operating puller feed roll, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll being driven therefrom by frictional contact.

16. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, cutting means effective to cut and apply designs to the work, a puller feed roll operative at the side of the cutting means to feed or pull the work, the cutting means and puller roll being located on the same axis and carried by said arm, means for applying pressure to said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll `and cutting meansrelative to the arm, a co-operating puller feed roll, a co-operating cutting means carried between the ends thereof on the same axis as the roll, and means for driving said last roll and the cutting means, the first roll and its cutting means being driven therefrom by frictional contact.

17. Al combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, a puller feed roll carried thereby and comprising a pair of spaced puller parts supported for simultaneous rotation, a circular cutter located between said spaced parts on the same axis and effective to cut and apply designs to the work while the spaced parts operate at the side of the cutter to feed or pull, means for exerting pressure on said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll and cutter relative to said arm, a co-operatin'g puller feed roll and cutting means, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll and its cutter being driven therefrom by frictional contact.

18. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a xed overhanging arm, a puller feed roll carried thereby and comprising a pair of spaced puller parts supported for simultaneous'rotation, a circular cutter located between said spaced parts on the same axis and effective to cut and apply designs to the work while the spaced parts operate at the side of the cutter to feed or pull, means for exerting pressure on said roll, means foifraising and lowering said roll and cutter relative to said arm, a co-operating puller feed roll and cutting means, and means for driving said last roll, the first roll and its cutter being driven therefrom by frictional Contact, said last feed roll also comprising a pair of spaced parts supported for simultaneous rotation with the cutting means located therebetween and on the axis thereof and cutting While the spaced parts ofthe roll at each side thereof are feeding or pulling the work.

19. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with a sewing machine and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and including a rotatable puller feed roll, means for exerting pressure thereon, cutting means located on the same axis therewith and operative during the rotation thereof to cut or apply designs to the work, a lower cooperating roll, means for driving it, the upper roll being frictionally driven therefrom, and gumming means co-operating with said cutting means to gum the edges of the-work.

20. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with sewing machines and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a fixed overhanging arm, a vertically supported bar carried thereby and shiftable relative to the arm, a rotatable roll carried at the lower end of said bar, means for exerting pressure on said roll, means for raising and lowering the roll and its bar relative to the arm, a rotatable cutter carried on the same axis as the roll and effective to cut or apply designs to the work, a lower roll co-operating with said shiftable roll and means for driving the lower roll and thereby the upper roll by frictional contact.

21. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with sewing machines and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising a xed overhanging arm, a vertically supported bar carried thereby and shiftable relative to the arm, a rotatable roll carried at the 'lower end of said bar, means for exerting pressure on said roll, means for raising and lowering the roll and its bar relative to the arm, a rotatable cutter carried on the same axis as the roll and effective to cut or apply designs to the work, a lower roll co-operating with said shiftable roll and means for driving the lower roll and thereby the upper roll by frictional contact and cutting means also carried on the same axis as the lower roll and co-operating with the cutting means of the upper roll.

22. A combined puller feed and cutting mechanism for use with sewing machines and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism and comprising'a fixed overhanging arm, a vertically supported bar carried thereby and shiftable relative to the arm, a rotatable roll carried atathe lower end of said bar, means for exerting pressure on said roll, means for raising and lowering the roll and its bar relative to the arm, a rotatable cutter carried on the same axis as the roll and effective to cut or apply designs to the Work, a lower roll co-operating with said shiftable roll, and means for driving the lower roll and thereby the upper roll by frictional contact, the rotatable cutter being located between spaced parts of the upper roll.

23. A combined puller feed and cutting mech- .anism for use with sewing machines and operative on the work prior to or after leaving the stitching mechanism-and comprising a xed overhanging arm, a vertically supported bar carried thereby and shiftable relative to the arm, a ro tatable roll carried at the lower end of said bar, means for exerting pressure on said roll, means for raising and lowering the roll and its bar relative to the arm, a rotatable cutter carried on the same axis as the roll and effective to cut or apply designs to the work, a lower roll co-operating with said shiftable roll, and means for driving the roll and thereby the upper roll by frictional contact, the rotatable cutter being located between spaced parts of the upper roll, and cutting means also located between spaced parts of the lower roll.

JOHN P. WEIS. 

